Sports

By JENNA FRYER AP Auto Racing Writer TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) — NASCAR’s playoffs shift to Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday for the middle race of the second round. Denny Hamlin is the only driver locked into the round of eight and is the defending race winner. Drivers are on edge ahead of Talladega because of the

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — There was a trademark Cristiano Ronaldo celebration at Old Trafford even if it didn’t come from the Portugal superstar himself. Everton winger Andros Townsend did a cheeky yet passable imitation of the spin-in-the-air move in front of his team’s jubilant fans after scoring the 65th-minute equalizer in a 1-1 draw at

By JOSEPH WILSON Associated Press BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barcelona’s club president has quashed reports of the imminent firing of Ronald Koeman. Joan Laporta said “Koeman will continue being the coach of Barcelona” regardless of the outcome of Barcelona’s Spanish league match at Atlético Madrid on Saturday. Barcelona later lost that match 2-0. This was

By TALES AZZONI AP Sports Writer Life has been anything but normal for the Brazilian teenager who became an overnight sensation after winning a silver medal at the Olympics’ inaugural skateboarding competition. Thirteen-year-old Rayssa Leal says “going to the mall or the supermarket is not the same as it was before” as there’s always someone

By BETH HARRIS AP Sports Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw exited his start with left forearm discomfort in the second inning against the Milwaukee Brewers. Kershaw gave up three runs and two hits on 42 pitches over 1 2/3 innings in his final regular-season start. The left-hander struck out one and

By ROB MAADDI AP Pro Football Writer TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Tom Brady won his first Super Bowl throwing to Troy Brown, Jermaine Wiggins and David Patten and earned his seventh ring firing passes to Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Antonio Brown and Rob Gronkowski. There’s a significant talent gap between his first crew of journeymen

By BETH HARRIS AP Sports Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Trea Turner hit a grand slam and solo home run as the Los Angeles Dodgers extended the NL West race for at least another day, rallying past the Milwaukee Brewers 8-6 after starter Clayton Kershaw got hurt. Pinch-hitter Matt Beaty launched a tiebreaking homer in

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The top two seeds, Andrey Rublev of Russia and Casper Ruud of Norway, have reached the semifinals of the inaugural San Diego Open. Rublev, who ended the hopes of San Diego native Brandon Nakashima on Wednesday, kept up his strong form and beat sixth-seeded Diego Schwartzman 6-1, 7-5. Ruud reached the

By JANIE McCAULEY AP Baseball Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The San Francisco Giants clinched at least a tie for their first NL West title since 2012 by matching the franchise record with their 106th win, beating the San Diego Padres 3-0 before turning their attention to the Dodgers’ game against Milwaukee. Darin Ruf hit

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hunter Renfroe and Bobby Dalbec hit back-to-back homers during a four-run sixth inning and the Boston Red Sox beat the Washington Nationals 4-2 to move into the second spot in the AL wild-card race. Boston won for the second time in seven games. The Red Sox pulled within a game of the

By TIM BOOTH AP Sports Writer SEATTLE (AP) — Jose Suarez threw five strong innings, Brandon Marsh accounted for all the offense with a two-run double, and the Los Angeles Angels landed a major blow to Seattle’s postseason hopes by beating the Mariners 2-1. Seattle dropped into a tie with Toronto, both of them one

By DAVID BRANDT AP Sports Writer PHOENIX (AP) — Trevor Story hit a go-ahead single in the ninth after Dom Nunez tied it with a pinch-hit solo homer and the Colorado Rockies rallied from a seven-run deficit to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 9-7. Colorado trailed 7-0 after three innings and 7-6 in the ninth, but

By JANIE McCAULEY AP Baseball Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The San Francisco Giants clinched at least a share of their first NL West title since 2012 by matching a franchise record with their 106th win, beating the San Diego Padres 3-0 before turning their attention to the Dodgers’ game against Milwaukee. Darin Ruf hit

By JOHN COON Associated Press LOGAN, Utah (AP) — Tyler Allgeier ran for a career-high 218 yards and three touchdowns to help No. 13 BYU beat Utah State 34-20 on Friday night. BYU (5-0) beat Utah State (3-2) for the second straight time in the Battle for the Old Wagon Wheel rivalry series. Baylor Romney

HOUSTON (AP) — Matt Olson and Chad Pinder each homered and the Oakland Athletics beat Houston 8-6, cutting the Astros’ edge for home-field advantage in the AL playoffs. Houston leads the White Sox by one game for home field in their best-of-five Division Series matchup next week. The AL West champion Astros also own the

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Top-seeded Andrey Rublev beat No. 6 Diego Schwartzman 6-1, 7-5 on Friday to reach the San Diego Open semifinals. Chasing a tour-leading fifth title of the season, Rublev will face fourth-seeded Cameron Norrie, a 6-3, 6-1 winner over Denis Shapovalov. In the other quarterfinals, second-seeded Casper Ruud beat ninth-seeded Lorenzo Sonego

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Austin Hedges and Bobby Bradley homered, Jose Ramirez drove in three runs and rookie Eli Morgan won his third straight start as the Cleveland Indians beat the Texas Rangers 9-6. The Indians clinched second place in the AL Central and must win their two remaining games to avoid their first losing

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw exited his start with left forearm discomfort in the second inning against the Milwaukee Brewers. Kershaw gave up three runs and two hits on 42 pitches over 1 2/3 innings in his final regular-season start. The left-hander struck out one and walked none. Manager Dave Roberts and